Upcoming Classes and More Seconds

Hey, my North Carolina folks, just a heads up... my class on creative surface designs  at Sawtooth School for Visual Arts still has a few seats left. You do not need to be able to draw for this one, and it is a great way to expand your pottery knowledge. It's going to fill up soon, so get your spot while you can. Classes start July 15th; it's four Monday mornings 10AM-12:30 PM. Here is a link to check out what classes are still available for summer 2013!

In other news, we were talking about seconds last time, things that for some reason or another are just not quite up to snuff. I am sad to say that these awesome lidded jars that I made (I was planning on entering them into a juried art show coming up) are just such a thing. The imperfections are minor, and they are still very beautiful, but I just can't enter them the way they are.

Normally, when something doesn't work out I find something else to do with the piece, but I am kind of stuck on these. They were just so much work, literally over a month start to finish for all three. Pottery can be such a challenge when you lose a project you've been working on for forever. It is a constant reminder to not get too attached to the things you make, and to really value what you learned in the process of making, instead of the object itself. Sometimes that is harder than others, I guess. They still look great as photos. Check them out for yourself below.

Second Thoughts

So, blog negligence aside I figure I will just pick up where I left off.

         Being part of a community studio is a great thing, not only do you get to see other people's cool ideas, but you also do not have to do all of the work that maintaining a studio requires. That being said, there is also a downside to not doing everything yourself. I have been struggling with nicks being created in the bottom of my work by the little pieces of glaze that get stuck to the kiln shelves. Because I am not the person who loads the glaze kilns I do not get to check, check again, and recheck all of the little details that my particular brand of nit picking would require. In the past, I had tried alumina oxide to solve this problem, but I must have done it wrong, or, more likely, sloppily, because I made a huge mess of what I was working on. On trying it again, I found that, as in all things pottery, a little more care was the solution, and the AlO2 worked like a dream this time. It was also suggested to me that painting the actual kiln shelf in the area that the piece will be sitting on works as well. If I was firing in my own kiln, that is probably how I would do it.

So, yay, problem solved, right? Sort of. I now have a bunch of really beautiful pieces that are perfectly fine except for the ridiculous amount of nicks in the bottom of them. A few years ago I wrote about turning these pieces into window shelf planters (article: Re-Purposing Damaged Cups) but there are only so many potted succulents a girl can have.  So I have to ask, what do you do with all these pieces? I'm taking suggestions. I have been considering selling them at a discounted price but I just can't wrap my head around selling someone something that is anything less than perfect. Thoughts?

In other news, I have just restocked my Etsy store and you should check it out!!

Look for some of these pieces available now.

Overhaul!

Well everyone, I have been especially negligent in my writing so far this year, but hopefully that period is over and 2013 becomes the year I hope it will be. To celebrate my new position teaching surface design at Sawtooth (classes start Monday, yikes!) I overhauled my website, so check it out!! I know I have mentioned it before, but sometimes you just need to take a break for a while to re-charge, and I feel I have done just that. So bear with me, and keep an eye out for some exciting new pieces in my Etsy store!

Thank You Kiln Gods!

Well, it has been about three months since I have been able to get in the studio as much as I'd like, and I think that I have gotten a system down. There is definitely still some room for tweaking, but I'm pretty happy with the consistency of my results at this point, which is saying something. At first, a new firing method and new materials was pretty daunting, but I think that the challenge of adapting to suit my new environment has pushed me to make better pieces, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what I can come up with here.

In other news, I am teaching a surface design workshop and mini-class next session (Jan-Feb) at Sawtooth for those of you in the Winston-Salem area. I'm super excited about it. The catalog will be out soon with more information. Also, the winter sale at Sawtooth called,"Deck the Halls" opens in December, so if you are looking for an awesome handmade present to give to someone this holiday season come check it out. The opening party is November 29th, more information is available on Sawtooth's website here.

Without further ado, here are some recent photos!!! These pieces will be available at Deck the Halls! Enjoy, Bianca

A Small Success

My first all around success in my new studio! Adjusting to this new firing method seems like it is taking forever!! But I finally feel that I am getting somewhere. It's just in time too, because when the new year rolls around I have to be ready to start teaching again!